Title

Legge, Withrow Reynolds

Last Name

Legge

First and Middle Name

Withrow Reynolds

Biographical Text

“Our battery was in a big woods with barbed wire strung in among the trees in which the Boche had left upon departing a short while before. It was dark as Hell itself and of course no lights are permitted as they soon draw fire, even a cigarette butt will do that.”

Withrow Legge entered military service in late 1917. Upon entering service Legge was sent to Camp Custer, near Augusta, Michigan, to train with the 328th United States Field Artillery where he was made executive officer of the battery before being sent to France. In July 1918, Legge and his unit were sent to France to join the American offensive at St. Mihiel. Legge and his unit were in the thick of the fighting in the St. Mihiel in the last month of the war, where he described the trees being covered with barbed wire and the ground being muddy from the near constant rain during that French fall. One November 11th, at 11 AM, Legge and his unit were occupying German trenches when they received world of the Armistice and were told to cease firing. Legge described the moment by writing that “every gun ceased firing and it got so quiet it was lonesome.”

After the Armistice, Legge and his unit stayed in their positions just ten miles from the infamous German stronghold of Metz. It was there that he saw long lines of Allied prisoners from all nations released by Germany pass through his lines all day and night.

Withrow Legge returned to his home in Winchester, Virginia and became a teacher. He married Katrina Baumgardner and had a son, Withrow Legge, Jr. Legge died on February 8, 1955.

Nicknames or Other Names

"Winnie"

Hometown

Winchester, Virginia

Birth Date

January 29, 1893

Birthplace

Winchester, Virginia

Death Date

February 8, 1955

Place of Death

Winchester, Virginia

Spouse(s)

Katrina Baumgardner

Children

Withrow Legge Jr.

VPI Graduating Class

1913

Undergraduate Major

Horticulture

Graduated

Yes

Service Branch

Army

Unit

Battery C, 328th Field Artillery, 92nd Division

Rank

2nd Lieutenant, then promoted to 1st Lieutenant

Battles or Engagements

St. Mihiel Offensive

Postwar Life

Withrow Legge returned to his home in Winchester, Virginia and became a teacher. He married Katrina Baumgardner and had a son, Withrow Legge, Jr. Legge died on February 8, 1955.

Occupation

Teacher

Contributing Researchers

Daniel Newcomb

Bibliography

Letter from Withrow Reynolds Legge published in The Virginia Tech, 16 January 1919